Raising Cain
by 30 seconds to Mars Bars
Summary: When Valkyrie falls into an alternitive dimension, via portal, she has no idea where she is, or what's in Music Room 3. But the clock is ticking, and Valkyrie is discovering a secret that could uncover magic in all dimensions...
1. Prologue

_Agony Silence strode down the hallways, cloak flowing behind him. He was in an especially good mood, thanks to his own genius idea. This was by far the best idea he had ever come up with in the last two hundred years. This was his chance to be known in the world as a hero for all those evil, and not the loser who invented vodka on a stick. He still believed that if people would _try _it, they would find vodka on a stick revolutionary, but those days were behind him. Now, he was focusing on one thing and one thing alone; Darquesse. He had seen her in action, not for long, but he had seen her. He watched her during the battle between her and Lord Vile. They were magnificent. Blood was spilt and replaced, injuries were given and received. The fight looked like a complicated dance with carefully choreographed moves that hurt the opponent. That was when he realise he needed her. He needed Darquesse to be his soldier._

_One of the down sides to his plan, however, was idiot sidekick It. It did not have a name, gender or personality. It was simply It. The only mildly distinctive feature It had, was It's flame red skin and other than that, It was totally forgettable. Silence had wanted an army of blood thirsty monsters that kill the enemy in an instant. But his budget was tight, so all he could afford was It. It came up to his shoulder and had basically no use apart from making the tea. But Silence, being what he thought was a genius, had found a useful thing for It to do. Silence was tracking down Darquesse, so he had sent It after her. Every day, It would phone Silence and tell him news of Cain, who would soon become Darquesse. All Silence had to do was wait for news, good or bad._

_He took this opportunity to gaze at his inventions and ideas. There was vodka on a stick, which was a bottle of vodka gaffa taped to a bamboo pole, the food carrier (a waste paper bin strapped to your head with food inside), the unlimited marshmallow supply, which was just a long stick with marshmallows on, and many more. Silence loved these inventions, but couldn't understand why everyone else thought they were lame._

_Suddenly, cracks appeared in the floor, and Billy-Ray Sanguine melted up through the floor. Silence gave him a quick nod, clearly eager to start business. "Mr Sanguine. May I just say-"_

_Sanguine's phone cut him off. He didn't seem to notice Silence's twitching face, as he was deep in conversation. "Kyoya. Yeh, I'm with him now. Have ya- oh good. Is everythin workin alright? Nice. Ok, got to go now, but keep me updated. Yeh, I do realise ya can only phone at this time. Bye." He hung up and turned back to Silence. "Have you been keepin an eye on Cain as ya promised?"_

"_Yes, It is seeing to that."_

"_That little red thing? Ya sure it'll do the job?"_

"_Positive."_

"_And, do ya have my money? I don't like to be kept waitin."_

_Silence picked up a black suitcase. Sanguine opened it, and counted the fifty pound notes. "Yeh, it's all here. How did you get it, though, I thought you were broke?"_

"_I borrowed it off a friend. Well, he wasn't much of a friend. And I didn't exactly borrow it."_

"_Doesn't matter to me. Money's money, after all." _

_Silence was about to smile, then he remembered who he was talking to. "Is the portal working?"_

"_Seems to be. Ten mages have already been through it, so all we have to do now is wait for Cain to go through."_

"_Should It follow her?"_

"_Yeh."_

"_Now all we have to do is wait."_

_Billy-Ray Sanguine smiled, but Silence didn't understand why exactly. "Well, there's been a bit of a problem. I lied, you see. You will not be part of my plans to own Darquesse. _You, _have no place here."_

_Silence stumbled back and fell over the table. He was terrified, as he knew what happened next. "But I paid you! I helped you! Please, let me live. I don't have a family, but I could start one, and then you would be responsible for killing the father of my unborn children from a wife who I don't have yet!"_

"_I'm not the smartest guy in the word, Silence, but even I can see your logic is idiotic and useless." Sanguine drew his razor, and made a swipe at Silence's face. He yelped and crashed into his worthless experiments. Cursing, Sanguine drove the blade into Silence's arm. He howled in pain as Sanguine sliced his right cheek, a red line of blood beginning to pour out. Silence was curled up on the floor, sobbing tears that mixed with blood before they hit the floor. Sanguine stood up, allowing this brief moment of triumph to wash over him. He strode over to Silence, staring at him with the black pits of darkness he had for eyes. He grabbed Silence by the collar, and pulled him up against the wall, like he had seen in James Bond. The razor gleamed as he plunged it into the shivering man's chest. His pupils widened and he fell to the ground, limp and covered in blood. _

_Sanguine walked over and gave his blade a gentle tug out of the corpse. He wiped it on his shirt, put it in his belt and sank through the ground. That had been easier than he had thought, as he had got the false impression that Silence was an inventor. One thing was certain, though. That had been probably the most dramatic death he had ever orchestrated. Now, for the Cain girl. Or rather, Darquesse. _


	2. The Portal

"Stephanie! It's time for school!" Valkyrie Cain groaned. Even though she had a reflection to go to school for her, she still had to get up at the crack of dawn to summon it. She grunted loudly in response, so her mother could hear. Her feet were still heavy from last night's Epic Punch Up, so they felt like lead weights. A smile spread across her face. She and Skulduggery _were _pretty amazing in that fight. They had moved in perfect harmony with each other, fighting back to back, and punching everything that came at them. It was hard to believe that she could have moved so swiftly when, in the morning, she was clumsy and tired.

Valkyrie trudged to the mirror and touched the glass. Her reflection blinked, the stepped out to join her. "You're smiling." It observed.

"Yes I am." Valkyrie replied, the grin widening.

"It's because you enjoy violence."

"I don't... Only because..." She faltered. The reflection smiled it's empty, emotionless smile. "You're becoming more like Darquesse every day."

Valkyrie's face turned into a scowl. "I am nothing like her, _nothing._"

"And yet, you find yourself agreeing with me."

"Go to school."

"You know I'm right."

"_Go to school."_ The reflection strode to the door, and was about to leave, when Valkyrie spoke. "Wait. Are you really going to go to school with no clothes on?" The reflection looked down at itself, as if for the first time realising that it was wearing nothing. "School uniform _would _be a good idea." It said.

Valkyrie jumped out the window, cushioning her fall with the air. A bitter wind blew her hair across her face, causing her to shiver. Not for the first time, she was grateful for her clothes made by Ghastly. Recently, she had grown out of the ones he had made for her when she was fourteen, so she had asked him for new ones. He had made them, and this was the first time she had worn them. Black was her trademark colour, but Ghastly had decided to include silver edges on the coat, tunic, trousers and boots. As always, they fitted perfectly.

A 1954 Bentley R-type one of only 208 ever made pulled up by the pier. The door swung open, and a man strode out. He wore a navy blue suit with pin stripes and a hat with the brim pulled low over his eyes. Dark hair spilled out from under his hat, and his mouth was showing off a winning smile. Valkyrie almost laughed, but then decided against it, and walked over to Skulduggery. "You don't have to use the façade here, there's no-one about. Besides, your skull is _way _hotter." Skulduggery tilted his head, and tapped his façade symbols. "Yes, well it _is _rather fetching..." Valkyrie rolled her eyes.

"Are we going to do some detective work, or are we going to discuss how hot you think your own skull is?"

"You brought it up." Skulduggery muttered. They both got in the Bentley, and drove away.

"Where are we going?" Valkyrie asked, ten minutes into the drive.

"It's a surprise." Skulduggery answered.

"Has it by any chance got something to do with the ten mages who all disappeared yesterday?"

"I'm saying nothing."

"So it _is _to do with that then." Skulduggery turned his head just a fraction towards her. "How can you ruin the best surprises, when all I say is 'I'm saying nothing'?"

"Because I'm clever."

"Fair enough."

Just beyond Dublin, was a dark wasteland. Beyond the wasteland, stood what used to be some sort of shed. It now had bits hanging off it, peeling green paint and clumps of weeds stuck upwards, like an extremely bad haircut. Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. "And this is where-"

"All ten, yes." She glared at Skulduggery, clearly not liking being interrupted. Skulduggery drew his revolver from its holster, and they strode cautiously inside.

The shed was littered with rusty bits and pieces, none of it looking very helpful. There weren't many places for a person to hide, let alone ten, so Valkyrie ruled out the slim possibility that they all _wanted_ to disappear in her mind. Skulduggery started checking the walls, so she checked the floor for cracks. Billy-Ray Sanguine could be a possible suspect, and given the circumstances, the most likely. Suddenly, Valkyrie stopped. There were burn marks on the floor, stretching across her path. She raised her head, then realise they were in a perfect circle on the walls and ceiling. She motioned for Skulduggery to come over. He had noticed it too. "Well, that _is _interesting."

Valkyrie peered closer at the marks, and realised there were symbols in the marks. She opened her mouth and turned round to Skulduggery, and it was then that Sanguine decided to pop out the wall. Sanguine smiled. "See ya 'lil darlin'." He touched three symbols, and they all lit up. Red light flooded the shed, causing Valkyrie to hold her sleeve up to her face. She called out to Skulduggery, but he was too slow, and soon she was tumbling through the red light. It seemed that the floor had collapsed, but she was the only one falling. A single scream passed her lips, a cry for help. Then, white tiles were zooming towards her face, and she barely had enough time to manipulate the air. She was dizzy, and her vision was blurred, and apart from a few cuts and bruises, she was ok.

Valkyrie dusted herself off, and then got her first glance at her surroundings. She was in some sort of corridor, and it was lit perfectly. Light pink walls stood tall, with a magnolia roof resting on top. Sun light streamed in through the giant glass windows, leaving the floor dappled with patches of yellow. She was outside a room labelled Music Room 3. Deciding to push all panicking questions to the back of her mind, she opened the double doors.

The scent of roses hit her full on, giving her even more of a headache. In this room, there were seven boys, all in purple blazers. "Welcome!" They said "To the Ouran High School Host Club!"


	3. An unexpected arrival

A blonde haired boy stepped towards her. He was quite good looking, but Valkyrie had a feeling he was stuck up. "Good afternoon, young lady. We are the Host Club here to entertain rich ladies with too much time on their hands, such as yourself. I am Tamaki-Senpai, the Host Club king, and I will do as you please." She stared at him in disbelief.

"Ok, first of all, I am not rich. I don't have time on my hands, due to the fact that I beat up people every day. And I am _not_ a young lady, so could you do me a favour and tell me where the _hell _I am?"

"I told you, this is the Ouran hi-"

"Never heard of you."

"But everyone has heard of the Host Club!"

"Well, not me. So, are you going to answer my question?" He sighed.

"You are in Ouran High school, a well achieving school for rich kids. The only exception to this is Haruhi." He gestured towards a dark, short haired seventeen year old in a purple blazer. Valkyrie cocked her head to one side. "Why is she in a boy's school uniform?"

"Haruhi is not a girl!" They all said in unison, except Haruhi. She just sighed.

"Guys, I think she knows. Just tell her, Kyo?" A boy with black hair and glasses picked up a notebook. "Right miss. Haruhi here is pretending to be a boy because on her first day, she broke an $80,000,000 vase. She is trying to pay back her debt by being in the host club and entertaining customers."

Valkyrie then nodded. "Well, that _does _explain that. I'm Valkyrie, by the way." She stuck out her hand. Tamaki shook it. "Meet the club. There is Haruhi," She shook her hand. Haruhi smiled, so Valkyrie returned the favour. Tamaki decided to continue. "Kyo," He gave her a blank expression and a curt nod. "Hunny and Mori-Senpai," Suddenly, a torpedo of blonde little by came rushing at her. He clung to her like a monkey, arms around her neck and legs around her waist. "Valkyrie! You're nice. Do you want to borrow Usa-Chan?" He held up a pink bunny toy, with button eyes and stains on it's fur. She was about to reply, but he was already running of screaming "CAKE!"

There was an insanely tall, broad shouldered man, who was gazing after the bunny boy, who Valkyrie guessed was Hunny. This man looked to be about 18, and a body guard for Hunny. She gave him a nod, and his eyes flicked towards her, but his head did not move a fraction. Tamaki decided to get on with the introductions. "And finally, we have Hikaru and Kaoru!" Two ginger twins that looked about Valkyrie's age strode up to her and stared. "Why are you wearing black?" They both said. "Girls shouldn't wear black, it makes them look gothic." Valkyrie had a feeling they were joking with her, judging from their tone of voice. She smiled. "I wear black because I look good in it, and do I _look_ like a girl to you?"

"No. Hey! Let's play a game. It's called the guess which one is Hikaru game!" The twins twirled around each other, twisting and swapping places. "Ok, which one of us is Hikaru?" Valkyrie glanced at them. "Judging from basic logic, Hikaru is usually the one on the left. But you have been swapping around, so Hikaru would be on the right. Although, everyone would guess that, so _you _are Hikaru." They laughed. "Wrong!" They said.

"No, I'm right. If I was wrong, you wouldn't have hesitated to say that I was." They stepped towards her. "Tell us, how did you know that?"

Valkyrie gave off a knowing smile. "Because I'm magic."

"So," Kyo remarked "I take it you're not a student here then?"

"No, I... have absolutely no idea how I got here. Or how long I'll be staying." Hunny stared at Valkyrie. "But, where will you sleep?" He asked eyes wide. Valkyrie considered this.

"I hadn't thought of that." A long moment of silence swept through the room. Eventually, the twins spoke. "You could stay with us, we have a huge house!" This caused Tamaki to gasp.

"She can't stay with _you_! You're guys! She would be most suited to be staying with Haruhi." He looked quite pleased with himself, until the twins interrupted his satisfied thoughts. "Um, Senpai? I don't think Haruhi and her father will have room for Valkyrie in their commoners flat. We've all been there and it is pretty small."

"She could stay at my place." Kyo replied evenly. "I have a sister she could share a room with, so she wouldn't be sharing with me. Are you happy with this arrangement, Valkyrie?"

She couldn't speak for a moment. These almost strangers were being so nice to her, even looking for a place she could stay. So all she could do was nod.

"Well then Valkyrie," Tamaki answered. "You have to do something while the Host Club is in business, so Hunny will take you to the refreshments-"

"We have cake!"

"Yes, thank you Hunny. And you can talk to us for the last half an hour. Then, Kyo will take you to meet his sister, and you will stay however many nights you are spending there. And you simply must come to school every day."

"Umm, thank you?" She was unsure what to feel at this moment in time. Tamaki, oblivious to her uncertainty, beamed. "You're welcome. The last batch of customers should be here any moment..." The double doors burst open and about twenty girls rushed in. They all gasped out of sheer delight at the six boys and Haruhi, who they assumed was a boy. Yellow dresses were the obvious uniform for girls, and Valkyrie despised that. At least at her school, you could choose to wear trousers or skirts. Valkyrie had obviously chosen trousers.

The girls piled in and sat at tables, requesting the club members. Valkyrie was staring at all this, when someone spoke to her. "So, who are you requesting?" Three girls had materialised behind her and sat down, without her realising. This had taken Valkyrie by complete surprise. "Oh, um, I'm not requesting anyone. I'm new."

"Ah, yes, that would explain the..." The one who was speaking faltered.

"The black?" Valkyrie suggested.

"That's it." The girl said. "What's your name then new girl?"

"Valkyrie. Valkyrie Cain. And you three?"

"This is Kyoko, Mai and I'm Takara. We come here often to see," Takara took a breath, then they all sighed. "Tamaki." Valkyrie found this enormously pathetic, but didn't say anything. She had a fear that if she did, she might start to punch people.

She spent the next half an hour watching Tamaki make romantic comments to all the girls, and then watch them all melt. Hunny showed her the different types of cake there were, and she watched him eat them _all._ So it was a relief when Kyo took her in his car to his massive house. After brief introductions with his parents, Kyo took her to meet his sister. He mentioned that he had phoned her, and told her that she would be sharing with Valkyrie. The door opened, and Valkyrie nearly fell over in shock when she saw who was in the room. For standing two feet away was Kitana. She smiled. "Hello Valkyrie."


	4. Swords and Teleporters

_Billy- Ray Sanguine crouched in wait of his next victim. He wasn't entirely certain of why he was doing this, but if it was what his master wanted, then he would do it. His hideout wasn't even worth calling a shed. The air was musty, a bitter chill clung to his skin and, if he had eyes, he wouldn't be able to see two feet in front of him. The one thing that kept him going was the look on the Cain girl's face when he pushed her into the portal. This thought almost made him lose control of his actions, and laugh, but he didn't. _

_Five years ago, Cain had sliced open his stomach and, until three months ago, he had been robbed of his power, due to his injury. It was then, that his girlfriend, Tanith Low, had taken him to see Dr Nye. Dr Nye was the strangest thing he had ever met. It was neither male nor female, but it did repair Sanguine, while Tanith went to stab a prisoner. He now had his power back, and was stronger than before. Pushing Cain into the portal hadn't come _close_ to repaying what she had done to him, but it would do for now. He had kept this quiet, but Sanguine was secretly hoping that Cain would return so he could torture her. He wouldn't kill her, Dusk had made sure of that, but he would hurt her until she opened her little girly mouth and screamed. _

_Footsteps were inside the shed, and looking around. They seemed to be beside the portal, so Billy-Ray jumped out, ready to push this person in. He hoped it would be the Skeleton Detective, so then he would have crossed off two people on his List of Revenge. Sanguine drew his straight razor, and was about to stab the person, when he saw who it was. He laughed, then folded up his razor._

_Tanith Low laughed with her black Remnant lips. "It's me, Billy. I came to see how you were doing. I heard Val was missing, has it got anything to do with you?" _

"_Might do." He replied with a grin. "Hey, what's that?" More footsteps were outside now, but only one pair. Sanguine turned back to Tanith. "You aren't alone?"_

"_I came alone, but someone must have followed me. Wall, now." Sanguine slid into the closest wall, and Tanith shifted her centre of gravity until she was on the ceiling. The door opened and a boy with ridiculously spiky blonde hair strode in. Fletcher Renn had arrived. He stood in the middle of the floor, and called for Tanith. Nothing happened, so he called again. Tanith drew her sword from its scabbard, and jumped down from the ceiling. "Hello Fletcher." She remarked. "How nice it is to see you here. I like your hair, by the way. It's the spitting image of an electrocuted hedgehog." Fletcher stood up a little straighter. "Do _not_ bring my hair into this. I have come because of Valkyrie." _

_Tanith laughed again. "Fletcher! You have a girlfriend back in Australia."_

"_I do. I am here to see Sanguine; I heard he pushed Valkyrie into the portal." Sanguine stepped out the wall and stared at Fletcher with those holes for eyes. This seemed to unnerve Fletcher slightly, but he tried not to show it. "I want to go through the portal." He tried his best to sound brave. Sanguine coked his head and began to laugh. "Sorry kid, I don't do favours."_

"_I have money." Fletcher replied evenly._

"_Oh yeh, how much?"_

"_Ten thousand pounds." _

"_Why would _you_, a skinny kid, have ten grand on ya?"_

"_I'm a Teleporter; I can get what I want, when I need it."_

_Sanguine considered this. "You do realise that if I take your offer, and send you over there, you can't teleport back."_

_Fletcher swallowed, as if he was dreading this. "Yeh, I know."_

_Sanguine walked over to the symbols, and tapped three of them. The portal opened its gaping red mouth and stood there, waiting for Fletcher. "Now, the money." Billy-Ray held out his hand and Fletcher gave him the suitcase, and was about to step into the portal, when he teleported over to Tanith. She screamed, and Sanguine turned to help her, but Fletcher was quicker and he teleported himself and Tanith into the portal. The Remnant inside her bulged in her throat, and ripped itself free. Tanith, now unconscious, and Fletcher fell in the red light. _


	5. Everyone in Ouran

Kitana's smile broadened. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

"What are you doing here, Kitana? Last time I saw you, I was punching you across the jaw and you were in shackles. How did you get into this dimension?" Valkyrie was almost shouting.

Kitana flicked her long blonde hair. "Well, as you said, last time I saw you I was heading to prison. But I heard them mention that they would be sending me to this high security prison I can't remember the name of. But then, this guy I went past reached through the bars and touched my arm. I thought nothing of it, until that night when my arm began to feel like it had been zapped. Then, I found myself here. I kept swapping between dimensions for about three weeks, but then I settled here and I haven't been back since." She finished, and Valkyrie's eyes widened with understanding.

"I know what happened to you. The man you met is called Silas Nadir. He is the only known Dimensional Shunter, which means he can send people and objects to other dimensions. Last year, he did the same to me, and I was sent to a dimension where magic ruled and mortal cowered beneath their feet. We're lucky, most dimensions are inhabitable."

Kitana frowned. "So, how did you get here then if he's the only Shunter in the world?"

"Sanguine pushed me through a portal, and I landed in this dimension."

"That makes sense."

Kitana frowned again. "Wait, but how come you got back to the real world when you were shunted, and I'm still here?"

Valkyrie considered this. "Well, Nadir told me, when I was hopping back and forth through dimensions, that the amount of times you shunt can be odd or even. That means, you can return home, or be stuck in another dimension."

"Looks like I'm staying here then."

"Unless..." Valkyrie looked Kitana right in the eye. "I know you won't like this, but we have to work together if we want to get home. Otherwise, we'll be stuck here forever."

She considered this, then sighed. "Alright. So, tell me everything useful you might know."

"I could take you to where the portal opened."

"Well what are we doing standing around then?"

"My thoughts exactly."

Kyoya had left at this point, thinking that this was some game girls played that he didn't understand. _Look on the bright side. _He thought. _At least they get on._ His parents hadn't been overjoyed at the fact that Valkyrie would be staying with them, especially since they had found Kitana on the streets a few weeks ago. But he was thankful that they hadn't made a fuss when she was watching. It was extremely impolite.

Valkyrie examined the burn marks on the previously white tiles. Kitana stared at her phone. "And you sure this is where the portal was?"

"Positive. But, just because this is where the portal _was_ doesn't mean it's here now. Hey, are you listening to me?"

Kitana looked up from her phone." Yeh, yeh, I'm just texting my mum back in the real world." Valkyrie whipped her head around. "_What!_"

"I have to tell her that I'm abroad and I won't be back for ages."

"But you can't text through dimensions!"

"It's funny, though, 'cos at 5:47 every day, I have signal and my phone works. Every other time, it's useless."

"And you didn't think that would be important?" Kitana shrugged. Valkyrie dug her phone from her pocket, and dialed Skulduggery's number. He picked up immediately. "Valkyrie?" His voice was desperate.

"Yeh, it's me."

"Well, you're alive, that's a start."

"Listen, no time to explain, but I can only call or text at 5:47 every day. By the way, Kitana's here."

"HOW ON EARTH IS-"

"Nadir."

"Ah."

"Although, how is it that I can only talk to you at 5:47?"

"I have a theory to do with that. You know every dimension is whizzing past at phenomenal speed?"

"Yeh,"

"Well, each dimension has a window of space, in this case, the portal. When two windows are perfectly lined up, your phone can connect to others. By the way, it's" Valkyrie's phone crackled, then went blank. She guessed it was 5:48. Kitana turned to face her. "Well?" She prompted.

"Skulduggery told me it had something to do with dimensional windows."

"I meant anything useful."

"That is use-" Valkyrie's words were cut short by the body of Fletcher Renn that had just fallen on top of her. "Ow." He moaned.

"If you think that hurts, try being squashed by you. Seriously, you're heavy."

Fletcher gasped and jumped up. "Valkyrie! You're not dead!"

"Yes I am, I'm just a figment of your imagination..."

"Oh."

"I can't believe you fell for that. Yes I'm alive you dipstick." Valkyrie smiled and hugged Fletcher. "It's so good to see you. And you brought Tanith with the Remnant inside her. Yay."

Fletcher shook his head. "No, it's just Tanith, no Remnant."

"But, how?"

Obviously proud of his genius work, Fletcher stuck out his chest. "Well, I couldn't stand to see Tanith stuck with that _thing _any longer, so I did some research. Well, Gordon had the research, but I found it. What I found was that Remnants don't like portals, and they will stop at nothing to get away from them, even leave their host body. So all I had to do was take Tanith through the portal, and she would be normal once again."

"Yes, but now a Remnant is loose somewhere."

"No, it isn't. When we fell through the portal, the top and the bottom closed, so the Remnant is trapped in between. And Remnants can't last long without a body, so it's probably dead or dying."

"Wow." Kitana said, clearly impressed. "You're hot _and _clever."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "Don't encourage him, his ego's big enough already."

"Now, Kitana, I may be single, but I tend not to go after the type who tries to destroy the world." Fletcher replied, loving the attention.

Kitana smiled and flicked her hair. "Yeh, well if you change your mind..."

Valkyrie couldn't contain it any longer. She burst out laughing, with tears rolling down her face because it was so ridiculous. Fletcher pulled his best offended face. "Excuse me, but what may I ask is so funny?"

This made Valkyrie laugh even harder, and soon Kitana was joining in. Fletcher groaned. "Not you as well."

Valkyrie and Kitana high fived. "Nice one" Valkyrie said.

"Yeh, well I have that effect on all the boys."

"If you think _you _have a massive effect on men, wait until you meet China Sorrows."


	6. Hair and swords do not mix

"Valkyrie!" Tamaki brightened as the group walked into Music room 3. "Who are your friends?"

"This is Kitana Kellaway, Tanith Low and Fletcher Renn. Kitana is Kyoya's adopted sister, and these two are old friends."

"Pleased to meet you all. And, I trust you had a comfortable night last night Valkyrie?"

"Yes, thank you."

Tamaki nodded, walked over to Tanith and kissed her hand. "Hello, young lady. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Tamaki, king of the host club and leader for all to follow." Hikaru and Kaoru started sniggering behind him, finding his over exaggerating words just too funny. He glared and tried to continue. "And who are you my lovely?"

Tanith raised an eyebrow. "Listen kid. I don't do your type. But you _can _answer a question for me. Have you ever been sliced by a sword? Let me tell you, it's very painful. I learnt this from experience. Do you want the same experience?" She parted her leather coat slightly, just so he could see the flash of silver hanging at her side.

He said nothing, just moved on towards Kitana, who held up her hand and said "Don't even bother, mister." Tamaki, ego slightly damaged, walked back to Valkyrie. "And if there is anything I can do for you..." He flashed her a glance that most people would have melted from. "You let me know." He strode out, feeling that he had done his job. Valkyrie raised an eyebrow at her friends. "That was Tamaki. Anyone who wants to puke from the romantic attempts, feel free." Tanith, Valkyrie and Kitana mimed being sick on the tiles, before they collapsed in fits of giggles. Fletcher and The Twins exchanged glances. "Women." They said in unison.

"So, Fletcher. I saw your eyes on Valkyrie." The Twins nudged Fletcher in the ribs. "Naughty."

"Ow! Guys! And no, I didn't have my eyes on Valkyrie. I have a girlfriend."

"I'm sure you do. You still like her."

"Well, yeh, but we're just friends."

Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged glances. "Sure you are"

Fletcher was about to argue, but they were already striding off, giving him a wink as they left. This left Fletcher utterly baffled.

Valkyrie's gaze swept across Music room three. Hunny was eating cake with Mori; Tamaki was trying, and succeeding, to make girl students melt, Kyoya was writing in his black notebook, The Twins were teasing Fletcher about something, Tanith and Kitana were talking, and Haruhi was watching all this. "Hey," Valkyrie said to Haruhi, taking her by surprise. She smiled.

"So, what made you come to Ouran?" Haruhi turned to her, waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry?"

"What made you choose Ouran High school out of all the others? You don't sound like you're from around here, so why didn't you go somewhere closer to home? I've been wondering this all night. It would make sense if Ouran was one of the best schools in the world, but it isn't so..."

"I guess certain circumstances forced me to take this path."

Haruhi nodded. "I know what you mean. I wanted to go to this other school where all my friends were going, but Ouran seemed to be best suited to me. So what's your story?"

"I... can't really say." Valkyrie replied honestly.

"That's ok. Hey, has Tamaki given you the big host club welcome yet?"

"If by the "big host club welcome" you mean tried to make me adore him, then yes, he has."

"Thought so."

"Tanith was _not _impressed. She threatened him with her sword."

"I'm not even going to _ask_ why she has that."

"Best not."

Fletcher was emotionally confused. Yes of course he loved Myra, but now he was working with Valkyrie again, he realised why he had liked her in the first place. But he knew Valkyrie was independent, and as far as he knew, she was staying that way. Before the twins had come along and pointed it out, he had no idea he had been staring at her. He cursed to himself for being so bad. He was with Myra, Valkyrie was independent and, at least for now, that's the way it would stay.

"VALKYRIEEEE!" Hunny had finally stopped eating cake, and was hurtling towards her at a phenomenal speed. She did her best to smile, despite the fact that she knew what would happen next... He slammed into her, causing her to stumble. Usually when this happened she was in a fight, but Hunny liked to do this to everyone. He wrapped his childish arms around her waist and climbed up to her face. "Here, I saved you some cake!" He brandished a slightly squashed piece of cake from behind his back, and thrust it towards her. Valkyrie did her best to seem grateful, by taking a bite out of it and smiling. Hunny gave her a huge grin back, jumped off her and ran back to eat more cake. Mori followed, his huge figure towering over Hunny's small but chubby frame. Haruhi turned to face her. "I know. Hunny does _not _look eighteen, but he is."

"Is that why he and Mori are always joined at the hip, because they're in the same year?"

"More or less. I think it also has something to do with their families that go back a long time..."

"Spare me the story."

Haruhi laughed. "That's exactly what I said."

Tanith didn't trust Kitana. She didn't like her at all. Valkyrie had spent most of last night filling Tanith in on what had happened since she had been with the Remnant. One of the most recent events was Argeddion, a pacifist, who gave mortals powers most sorcerers could only dream of. _His _dream was what he called The Summer of Light, when sorcerers and mortal being lived in peace and harmony. But not everyone had the same dream as him. There were four teenagers, Doran Purcell, Sean Mackin, Elsie O'Brien and Kitana Kellaway. They were some of Argeddion's test subjects before The Summer of Light happened, so he could see what the world would do with magic. These four could have chosen to make good with their magic, but decided to use it for revenge and personal reasons. Apart from Elsie. She didn't want to be around Kitana and the others, so she decided to help. In the end, Kitana, Doran and Sean were sent to the Sanctuary prisons, had their magic taken away, while Skulduggery and Valkyrie had stopped The Summer of Light.

So basically, Tanith had issues with Kitana. She stood beside Tanith, flicking her hair in a very irritating manor. Tanith was about to lose it. "If you don't stop flicking your hair in my face, I'll cut it all off." Her voice had a certain threatening tone that most people wouldn't have messed with. Kitana laughed. "You wouldn't dare." Tanith's hand gripped her sword. Valkyrie choose that moment to come striding over. "You guys getting on?" Kitana her smiled an annoying smile, and Tanith glowered. Valkyrie fought to keep a straight face. Tamaki decided to join the party by asking how everyone was. Valkyrie said she was good, Tanith gave him a curt nod, and Kitana flicked her hair. Tamaki nodded. "Good well I'll just-" The flash of silver caught everyone's attention, as a pile of blonde hair fell to the ground. Kitana shrieked and clutched what was left of her hair; an oddly shaped bob. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"


	7. The Female Justin Bieber

"Wow." Valkyrie said, clearly amused. "Who ever thought two and a half years with a Remnant could make a person so cranky." Tanith smiled a satisfied smile and slipped her blade back into its sheath. Everyone was trying not to laugh, apart from Kitana. She stood, fuming with pure hatred. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY! I HAVE SPENT YEARS GROWING MY HAIR, NOW IT'S ALL CUT OFF. LOOK AT IT!" They all looked, and sniggered. Kitana looked like she was about to punch all of them. Kyoya had a calm look about him, as he spoke without looking up from his black book. "Hikaru, Kaoru. You know what to do." The Twins began to circle her with scissors, combs, hairbrushes and other items that Valkyrie thought looked like they should be used for torture, not hairdressing. Hikaru and Kaoru began their work very fast and efficiently. A few strands were trimmed and they brushed her parting so much that it looked silky. When they were done, they admired their work and stepped back. "Nice job brother." The Twins high-fived each other.

Kitana was not convinced. "I look like a female Justin Bieber." Much to Valkyrie's amusement, she found herself agreeing with this, but she decided not to say anything. She looked over at Tanith, who was probably thinking the same thing, judging by her obvious attempt to hide her laughter. They were now both in danger of dying from laughing. Valkyrie could see Tamaki striding over to Kitana in an attempt to cheer her up. But Kitana wasn't sad, she was grouchy. This, however, had no effect on Tamaki's efforts. "You look fabulous, my darling! Absolutely fabulous!"

"I would look fabulous, if I was a boy. Short hair doesn't suit me."

Valkyrie sensed an opportunity to have a bit of fun. "Yeh, you're right, short hair doesn't suit you at _all._ You _totally _can't pull off short hair."

A spark lit in Kitana's eye, and Valkyrie knew she had taken the bait. "Challenge accepted! I, Kitana Kellaway, will be able to live with short hair!" And with that newfound determination, she held her head high and strode out of the room. Tanith raised an eyebrow at Valkyrie, and she grinned in response.

Hunny loved cake. He didn't know why, but he thought cake was the best thing in the world. Well, apart from Usa-Chan. He held the faded pink rabbit toy with button eyes close to his chest. Usa-Chan liked cake too, especially when Hunny fed it to him. They were eating cake now, and watching the Host Club day go by. He saw Hikaru and Kaoru cutting Kitana's hair. She looked angry, which Hunny could not understand. The Twins were the best hairdressers he knew, why would anyone be angry with them? But Kitana was, and she also seemed to be agitated. Hunny turned to look at Mori. "I think Kitana needs some cake. Can we go over there and give her some?"

There was a long pause before Mori answered, as usual. "I think we should let them work this one out by themselves, without the power of cake." Hunny nodded. Valkyrie said something Hunny didn't quite catch, but it seemed to do the trick. Kitana stood up with a glint in her eye and said something that sounded heroic. She then hurried out of the room, as if she had business elsewhere. Hunny wanted to know where she had gone, and he was about to follow her, when seven different types of cake were placed in front of him. _I'll ask her later. _He thought to himself. _Right now I have business of my own..._

Tanith couldn't sleep. The day had gone by so fast, she found herself barely tired. This was her second night without the Remnant and in this hotel room. Valkyrie had tried her best to fill Tanith in on key events she had missed, but that just made things worse. Tanith couldn't believe that she was technically still dating _Sanguine._ The thought made bile rise in her throat. _He _probably still thought that she was the Remnant Tanith, not the real one. She tried to focus on the positives. Her blade slicing through Kitana's hair had to be one. She had also let out a little yelp when it all fell to the floor. Tanith couldn't help it. A smile spread over her face in the dark. Her little list of positives was designed to cheer her up. She was trying to think about what else cheered her up...

A thought suddenly struck her. _"Ghastly."_ She remembered earlier today, Valkyrie was on the phone to Skulduggery. She cursed at herself for having been so stupid. Valkyrie had told her that they could contact people in their own dimension at 5:47. It was long gone that time now, but Tanith promised herself that she would phone him tomorrow. Then, when they all got home, Ghastly and herself would have that steak he promised her.

_It was waiting for her. It could see her tanned face and tousled blonde hair. How it longed to rip her apart with its bare hands and leave this warm place for its home in the Arctic. But Master had told it to be patient. This was not the one they were after. They needed Darquesse, and Darquesse needed them. This was as far as they got in their search for her, but all was not lost. This one was a friend of Cain, and Cain needed them to become Darquesse. All they had to do was find her through this one. It grinned in the pitch black room. The lady was asleep, at last, and had no idea it was standing right beside her bed. The lady was smiling and whispering the word ghastly into the night. It wondered why something ghastly would make a person smile, but that was none of his business._

_Beside her bed was a silver blade so long and magnificent, a king could use it. The Lady's hand was close to it so that if danger approached, she would be able to defend herself. This would have been a good thing, if the danger wasn't right beside her bed. It was small, and the sword looked heavy, but it was sure it could lift it. Its two red hands curled around the handle, and lifted the sword up. The weight of the thing made it groan and moan, but it carried on. Careful as to not make a sound, it plodded to the other side of the room. When it was satisfied that it was a safe distance away, it placed the blade down. It turned back to the bed, which was still occupied. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, dawn breaking on the horizon. It smiled. Dawn was when Master had told it to make his move. It grabbed some rope and chains from its pockets and tied the lady up. She was still sleeping, so when she was tied and shackled to the chair, it tapped her on the shoulder. Her eyes snapped open, and took in what was happening. She saw the sword by the door and tested the shackles. "Oh hell..." She said. The smile on its face broadened. This was going to be fun._


End file.
